Moneynetlifeinsurancesearch I don't know about you, but I have been eagerly awaiting the publishing event of the year. I can't wait. For those unfamiliar with it, the book is a collection of those rude, obscene and, yes, profane colloquialisms that have made the English language the global force it is today, and which have livened the pages of the adult comic Viz for some years, compiled by its lazy, foul-mouthed fictional TV presenter Roger Mellie."More pearls from Roger's bulging sack" as the publicity material puts it, and, if you can take it, you too can find the true meaning of "rolling thunder", "tramp's housewarming", "Tokyo optician", and about 4,000 other filthy entries.All very well, but what has all this got to do with investment? Two things. First, these midget gems should take your mind off the worst bear market in years. Second, it is a very good example of the business flair of the man behind the venture, James Brown.Mr Brown is the chap who invented the lad mag, Loaded in 1994, and went on to even greater success at Conde Nast with GQ until he made the mistake of naming Field Marshal Erwin Rommel as one of the sharpest-dressed men of the 20th century.

Now, I can see why people might get upset about that but, as that great 1951 movie in which James Mason starred as Germany's most celebrated soldier showed, Rommel was pretty anti-Hitler, at least when he started losing.Anyway, Mr Brown put the Desert Fox behind him and went on to found his own company, I Feel Good, which floated in 2000. It's had its ups and downs, mostly down as far as the share price is concerned. The big move was buying Viz from John Brown Publishing in March last year, which threw Fortean Times and Bizarre into the deal. Although the Viz boom is over and circulation is way off its one million peak, as you can tell from my comments, it still has devoted fans and the decision to increase the number of issues hasn't reduced the quality too much.

(Obviously it's not as funny as it used to be; what is?)The Profanisaurus spin-off is a brilliant idea; the material was provided free by the readers, it has all been published already in the comics and in a slim giveaway volume, and we readers are now being asked to pay for it again when it appears in book form. Much the same goes for Wigwatching, featuring some of the world's least-convincing hairpieces, with snaps sent in by "syrup-spotters". Money for old butcher's string, as they say.As crucial for the medium term future of the group is the success of Jack, the new Readers Digest-sized post-lads'-mag magazine which is going monthly, having been reasonably successful with two quarterly editions. It is a very tough market, and grossly oversupplied, but I have a feeling that Brown, who owns about a quarter of IFG, could once again open up his legs and show his class, as David Coleman once said about Seb Coe.The shares are essentially a punt on Brown making the best of Viz and Jack, the chances of a sustained advertising upturn plus a consideration for a possible bid in the future.Are they cheap enough? They floated at 37p in May 2000, I bought them at 10p this year, and they slumped to 4p, with rumours that Goldman Sachs had dumped a stake Since then they've recovered on bid rumours to about 7.5p. An interesting story, at any rate, and I've bought a few more.Almost as interesting a story, indeed, as Marconi. Even as I write I am measuring up the frames for my Marconi share certificate, now worth so little it isn't worth selling. Like all good investors I will hang it on my wall as a warning against greed and the herd mentality.I want to mention HMV Last week I criticised its prospects.

Since then I have learned that HMV does, in fact, have a plan to deal with the scourge of downloading, which is a new venture that allows customers to download music from the HMV website for a monthly subscription of £4.99. Happy to oblige, but I remain sceptical.s.o'grady independent.co.uk. The world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg is focusing more than just the minds of heads of state on ethical and environmental issues. The fund management industry has its two bobs' worth to contribute too. Moneynet The world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg is focusing more than just the minds of heads of state on ethical and environmental issues.